Full time running dash cam?

Oriana

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Malta
Hi,

I am looking to buy a 4 dash cams (front, rear, and sides). Are there and cams which record and save all the footage while parked? I am not usually parked in one spot for a long time and I frequently go check on my car so I don't have to worry about important footage being overridden. Most of the dash cams I found only record footage while they detect movement, however, I would like something more accurate. Any recommendations? Thanks
 
Hi,

Most of the dash cams I found only record footage while they detect movement, however, I would like something more accurate. Any recommendations? Thanks

That's only if you turn on Motion Detect.

Get four single channel or two dual channel capacitor powered cameras and leave them recording normally, doesn't get more accurate than that.

How do you plan on powering them when away?
 
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you can just leave the cameras recording all the time, but i am afraid that will still be a problem as i understand it get hot on Malta in the summer, so for this to work you at least need to be parked out of the sun.
And you will need:

A expanded 12 V system in the car, i would say at least 2 extra batteries, and i would recommend expensive deep cycle batteries.
A BDP / splitter to make sure the dashcams only use the extra batteries so your car can always start, you can get the same devise campers use to split the camper batteries off from the car battery so only charging can go to extra batteries.
Malta are small, you will need to drive a lot to charge the batteries after a work day or overnight, or increase the charging capabilities of your car with larger or extra generators.
I dont know how much a car generator charge with, but 30 amps are a guess, so if your 100 AH batteri are close to flat you will need to drive at least 3 hours to top it up.
And with always recording you will need some of the largest memory cards in each camera, i would say at the very least 128 GB in each camera, but 256 Gb are probably preferred in this situation.
A dashcam typically generate around 100 MB footage every minute it record ( or more )

It would be far better to put a CCTV camera on the car where it is parked, i have that ( live in a 2 floor apartment and have my car parked in the back yard )
 
For continuous recording in a hot car none can best the original Mobius with super-caps for reliability. Mine has run continuously for 3 years now without any problems. Alternately the SG9665GC has a good reputation in similar conditions. I've also had good results running the G1W-S and the WR-1 for several days continuously in the summer heat. Do remember that this kind of usage voids warranties.

Running one cam for 6-8 hours might be some strain on a small battery but seems to be OK with larger ones. You will lose some battery life but not much- I consider it a good trade-off. Running 2 cams for half as long would be similar. I have a huge almost-new battery and sometimes run 4 cams while parked at work. I'm certain this is shortening the battery life as I can tell by the starter speed it's a bit low. In another year the battery may not support that- I don't know yet but I wouldn't be surprised.

I'd suggest using powerbanks if you're going to be doing this as they are much cheaper than a new car battery. Though a bit old the Mobius vids are quite good daytime and fair at night. If they're good enough for you that would be my preferred cam. If you need better at night then the SG will serve you well.

Phil
 
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